Toyota sudden acceleration lawsuit in SD

Toyota would be crazy if it ever let this lawsuit filed by relatives of CHP Officer Mark Saylor get anywhere near a San Diego jury.

Saylor and three family members were killed last year when a Lexus ES 350 accelerated out of control in Santee, east of San Diego.

This horrific 911 call recorded the family’s final minutes as they sped into an intersection on northbound SR-125. The final words heard from the vehicle were “hold on” and “pray.”

The 272-horsepower Lexus was moving at between 112 and 150 (!) miles per hour when it crashed and burst into flames, likely due to overheated brakes, according to the crash report.

Bob Baker Lexus of El Cajon better have good lawyers too.

The crash vehicle was a loaner from Bob Baker. Investigators found that the dealership installed the wrong floor mats, causing the accelerator to become stuck.

Another customer who had borrowed the crash vehicle four days earlier told Sheriff’s investigators that the accelerator had gotten stuck under the floor mat, a fact he reported to the Bob Baker receptionist.

The crash report also noted that electronic or computer-generated malfunction “should not be ruled out.”

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in San Diego Superior Court by Jim Gomez and Tim Pestotnik, a pair of local attorneys. Pestotnik declined to tell the Wall Street Journal whether settlement talks with Toyota had already occurred.